Like a ghost from 2023, French pension reform is back in the news with the announcement from Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu that the reform will be suspended in order to try an ensure the survival of the government.
Here's your five-minute roundup of why this is happening, the political background and what it means for French workers and pensioners.
What happened?
On Tuesday, prime minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that the 2023 pension reform - the headline measure of which was raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 - would be suspended until 2027.
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The reform, as passed in 2023, was a progressive one, gradually raising the standard retirement age from 62 to 64 over a period of several years. The suspension means that changes that have already been made will not be reversed, but the later stages of the reform will not be implemented on the planned timetable.
Why did Lecornu do this?
In brief, to save his political skin (and that of his boss, president Emmanuel Macron).
The delicate balance in the deadlocked French parliament gives the centre-left Parti Socialiste a swing vote which could decide whether Lecornu's current government survives. As a quid pro quo for their support, PS leaders demanded a suspension of the pension reform.
The collapse of another government would almost certainly lead to fresh parliamentary elections and would place growing pressure on Macron himself to resign before the end of his term in 2027.
A collapse would also leave the country without a 2026 Budget, something that is even more important than normal as France's deficit continues to spiral.
Naturally, Lecornu and Macron say they are suspending the reform in order to ensure stability and make sure a budget is passed, rather than to save their own skins.
So what happens now?
On Thursday, at least two no-confidence motions will be filed in the Assemblée nationale against Lecornu's government. Although the parliamentary maths is complicated, it looks like the government will survive if all the Socialiste MPs stick to the party line.
But even if the government survives the week, it still has to try and get the 2026 Budget passed, which will likely involve making tough economic choices. It's far from clear whether the agreement to suspend the pension reform will persuade the parties of the left to support a cost-cutting budget.
Remind me what the pension reform was all about?
Macron's pension reform came in two phases - the first in 2019 and the second in 2023.
The 2019 reform was mostly about changing the pension system itself to make it more universal, scrapping many of the 'special regimes' that allowed people in certain professions to retire early. It was hugely controversial and led to months of transport strikes, the largest cumulative strike action seen in France since May 1968.
The reform was due to be introduced in 2020, but when the pandemic hit, the government decided that it was too divisive at such a difficult time and paused the introduction.
With the pandemic over, Macron decided to revisit the issue and the government eventually proposed an altered reform that would also raise the standard retirement age from 62 to 64.
This was eventually passed in 2023 against huge opposition - the government had to use special powers to force it through parliament and the country saw another wave of strikes and huge street protests, some of which turned violent.
But what does this mean for people who have a French pension?
The reform, as passed in 2023, is not scrapped; it is simply frozen, with a final decision postponed until after the next presidential election in 2027.
For the moment, it means that changes already in effect will stay - so people who have already retired will see no change.
The standard retirement age was being gradually raised from 62 to 64 - at present it is 62 years and nine months. That will therefore remain the retirement age until 2027.
French pensions are calculated partly on age and partly based on the number of 'trimestres' that people have worked, with special regimes and exemptions in place for certain types of jobs.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: The website to help you calculate your French pension
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